On voter apathy

I share the editor’s bewilderment at the level of voter apathy in Alaska. (Frontiersman, 19 Aug.)

Internationally, America is the country with the most personal freedoms and greatest access to influencing government policy through voting. So why do we have voter turnouts like 12.2%and 14.9% for people who will be making decisions affecting Alaska and our future?

People fought hard and sacrificed much to give us the right to vote and express our wishes to those who represent us. To the many supporters of Lynn Gattis who told her she was a “shoe-in, but didn’t get out to vote, I hope a lesson has been learned.

I’d also like to respond to the accusations that the legislators were “napping” and did nothing in Juneau.

By “doing nothing” they were attempting to forestall unnecessary tax rises, protect your PFD and fight for cuts in burgeoning government expenses. “Doing nothing” is better than passing bad legislation which will saddle us all with higher costs in the future. This was all at the expense of their summer break, time with families, neglect of their own businesses and time to campaign for the Aug. election, which I believe to be a deliberate intended consequence of Governor Walker’s punitive ploy in calling for extra sessions.

As one well familiar with dictatorships and autocratic governments, I greatly value the freedoms and democracy we have here, and would like to encourage people not to take these for granted, but to participate in the processes we have that affect their lives and future.

—Norma De Vilbiss

Palmer